The wonders of being a kid
by nt'kit
Summary: Small, light-hearted short stories about the D-Brothers and their adventures and pranks as kids. Ch. 3, Christmas Special!  ft. Sabo
1. Dine and Dash

Oh yeah, I'm on fire! The plot bunny decided to visit my mind and I'm definitely going to exploit him before it decides to leave... Anyway! Here I am, once again, writing a tiny Ace and Luffy fic! I seriously can't get enough of those two… they are so cute! I'm planning on making this in some sort of short stories, so don't get surprised if one chapter has nothing to do with the next. Also, ages may change drastically…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own One Piece, duh.

**Warning:** Bad examples for good kids, some cursing as well... not too much though.

**Summary:** After concluding that stealing food was not a good example for his little brother, Ace decides to go for a different option, dine and dash.

**Ages:**

Ace- 10

Luffy- 7

**Pairings:** If you consider Everyone/Food as a pairing, then yeah.

Now on with the story!

* * *

"Listen up Luffy, there's something we need to talk about."

Luffy lifted up his head and stared at Ace. It's been three weeks since Sabo was killed and the boy's were already getting used to the idea. After a week of crying and sulking, Luffy decided to fulfill his dream of becoming a great pirate and give Shank's his hat back, he would be free just like Sabo wanted. Ace acted different as well, he wouldn't hit him as much as he used to, and now he smiled a lot more around Luffy than before.

"Look Ace! A purple beetle!" Luffy said, ignoring his brother's statement and pushing the purple beetle into Ace's face.

Ace sighed, that boy had a serious problem of ADHD. "Listen Luffy, I've been thinking," Ace started once again, finally getting the boy's attention. "And I've been setting a bad example for you."

Luffy tilted his head to the side, what was his brother talking about anyways? "Nu-huh! Ace is a really cool big brother!" The boy said forgetting the purple beetle that was now escaping from Luffy's.

"Not that idiot!" He said hitting Luffy on the head while trying to suppress the small smile that was forming on his lips. Heh, Luffy thinks he's cool… "I mean about us stealing food!"

Luffy settled his hat on his head before staring at Ace once again. "What about it?"

"Well it's wrong." Ace said taking a seat in front of Luffy. "And I don't want a stealing little brother, so we won't steal food anymore."

Luffy pondered on his brother's resolution before speaking up again. "But then we won't be able to eat that yummy food on the restaurants…"

It was no mystery that the boys would usually go and hunt for their dinner at the woods next to Dadan's place, using it as an excuse to practice their fighting skills and get stronger so they could be ready for whatever adventure the sea decided to provide them. And not that the boys complained, those overly-grown bears and huge crocodiles were really tasty when roasted, but eating food of a restaurant was nice once in a while, even if they had to run for their lives after stealing it and having a mad chef running wild with a knife in hand.

"Yes we will still eat that kind of food," Ace said gaining the little raven haired boy's attention. "In fact, let's go to Fuusha right now." He said while getting up, being followed by Luffy. "I'm getting a little bit hungry."

"I don't get it Ace, if we're not gonna steal the food than what will we do?" Luffy asked as they walked to Fuusha Village.

"You'll see…"

It was certainly a peaceful day when the boys headed to the village, talking and fighting every now and then as they normally would, and after some minutes they made it to the main road. Ace turned his sight left and right, deciding which way they should go to get some decent food, and after pondering for a while, he decided to go to the right, being followed close behind by a grinning Luffy.

"Ne Ace, where are we going?" Luffy asked before he was shoved to the side and into a deserted alley by a smirking Ace. "Ace? Are you alright? You're making a funny face…"

"Listen Luffy," Ace whispered, ignoring the previous statement his little brother made. "Do you see that bar over there?" He said and pointed to a small restaurant that was just a few steps from the boys. Luffy nodded. "Well, this is what we're gonna do…"

* * *

The loud chatting of drunken men echoed through the small bar, drowning the sound that the small bell at the door made announcing the entry of some customers. The delicate aroma of food lingered in the air mixed with the smell of beer that, despite being so early, the clients were already enjoying.

The two kids walked to the furthest part of the bar, where the owner was located drying some glasses, and sat down, a large grin adorning the youngest face while the traces of a smirk appeared on the eldest.

"Misteeeer! Food!" Luffy said eagerly earning a slap across the head from Ace.

"Manners Luffy! Say please!"

Luffy pouted but did as his brother said nonetheless. "Food please!"

The owner laughed at the kids antics and rested his elbows on the counter so he could be able to speak with the boys easily. "Well aren't you some lively little brats?" He said with a smile. The man seemed to be in his late thirties, he was a bulky tall man with a large beard, gray hair and a scar across his face. All in all, the man was rather intimidating. A shiver ran down Ace's spine as he remembered Garp for some odd reason. "So what would you two want to eat?"

"MEAT!" Was the immediate response Luffy gave while Ace just slapped his forehead, why did he even bother to teach some manners into the hyperactive bundle of energy anyway?

The bulky man laughed in response and headed to the kitchen, ready to prepare a steak for the boys.

"Luffy, remember what I told you alright?" Ace whispered, hoping that his dense little brother had at least comprehended the plan Ace had told him some minutes ago.

Luffy nodded eagerly and Ace smirked.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

After a few minutes of waiting, the old man came out of the kitchen with two plates and some huge, juicy steak on each, making the smaller D. drool with anticipation. "There you go." He said and placed the plates before the kids, taking his hand out in time before a hungry Luffy devoured it as well.

"Mister! This is great!" Luffy managed said with his mouth full of food, earning another slap across his head from the older boy and a scolding about not talking with his mouth full of food.

The old man then stared at Luffy intently, as if trying to find something in the boy's features. Ace managed to suppress a growl that threatened to escape through his throat as he glared to the man. "What are you looking at?" He said in a defying tone, his big brother instincts kicking in.

"Oh no," He said without even taking his gaze off of Luffy. Ace could feel a vein throbbing on his forehead. "It's just that I feel like I've seen this boy before…"

The man's thoughts were interrupted by a happy Luffy who stretched on his seat, oblivious to the intense staring and the killing aura that concerned him. "Ah~! This was great!" He said with a goofy grin on place. "Are you done, Ace?"

"Yeah." Ace said before getting off of his seat and standing in front of the counter the man was leaning in, Luffy followed some second later.

"Thank you for the food." Both boys said with a bow, then, as if nothing had ever happened, they turned around and walked calmly to the front door, leaving a stunned bulky old man behind.

"You see Luffy, I told you it would work." Ace said once they were a few meters away from the bar.

"Ah… Ace is so smart!" The straw hat wearing kid said, provoking a smug smile on the older D.'s face. "We should do this more often!" Luffy said with a grin, making the older boy grin as well.

"WAIT A MINUTE YOU LITTLE RASCALS! GIVE ME MY MONEY!"

"Crap! Run Luffy!"

* * *

"MORONS!"

A throbbing vein made its way to a fuming Garp as he crashed his fists into the heads of his whining grandsons in the name of justice. No more than ten minutes had passed after he disembarked from the Marine's ship that was docked at the port of the island, and as soon as he set foot on the main road of Fuusha Village, about 10 raging chefs, knives in their hands for further intimidation, went and attacked poor Garp with hysterical replies.

It seemed that about two weeks ago, his grandsons had decided to go to every bar in the vicinity and do their now famous 'dine-and-dash', eating as much as they could and running away after getting their food. Normally they would get the kids and make them wash the dirty dishes, but those boys proved to be quite fast when each one of them tried to catch them. This only left one option.

It was common sense that those kids lacked the money to pay them, but their oh-so-generous grandpa would surely pay for the food those brats ate, and they would make sure to get every cent back. And now poor little Garp was left with one option.

Hit some justice on his grandson's skulls.

"After 2 months of leaving Fuusha I finally get a chance to visit my grandsons, and what do I find? You brats were causing trouble in the village!" Garp said as he paced back and forth in front of the pouting little boys.

"Sorry gramps…"

"And then as soon as I set foot on the village ten angry chefs come and complain to me about you stealing their food!"

"Sorry gramps…"

"Why the hell didn't you go to Makino's!" He asked as he finally stood in front of the kids.

"We did!" Luffy exclaimed. "But she was really busy, so we went to other places!"

"THEN ASK DADAN FOR FOOD!" Garp blurted out as he, once again, hit the abused heads of the kids.

"Are you serious? Her food tastes like rotten eggs! It's like poison!" Ace said desperately trying to get some sense in the old man's head. "Luffy suffered from food poisoning for one week after tasting Dadan's food!"

Garp flinched as he remembered once he tried Dadan's food… He had to deal with a week of diarrhea just when the Marine officers decided to have a week-long meeting…

"Still I'm not going to let my grandsons to be some food robbers! You're going to be honest Marines!"

"We're not robbers! We said please! And we're not going to be… ugh… I'm hungry…"Luffy said as he slid to the ground, whatever retort he was going to make to his grandpa was soon forgotten at the rumbling of his stomach. A small blush appeared on the other two as their stomach's too made a rumbling noise.

"Come on kids, grandpa will treat you at some restaurant." Garp said as he started to walk towards Fuusha Village, his two grandsons happily following behind.

* * *

"Man! I'm stuffed!"

A happy Luffy patted his stomach as he leaned to the back of the chair, being soon followed by Ace and Garp who just laughed his so familiar laugh. After going to Makino's to eat, Garp discovered that, indeed, the small bar was full of customer, letting barely any seat available. Being the considerate person that he is, he went to another bar that was located on the street behind.

"Well boys, let's go." Garp said before looking for his wallet. A few minutes passed before the man realized that his wallet was not with him and that he left it at Dadan's house. Oh, lucky him. "Crap, I forgot my wallet!" He panicked as he pulled out his hair in frustration.

The kids sweat dropped at his grandpa's antics before a playful smirk made its way to their lips. "Let's thank for the food!" Luffy all but yelled as he got off the tall chair.

"Oh, are you done already?" The owner said as he saw Garp standing in front of him with the two kids at his sides.

"Thanks for the food." The three said in unison while bowing down their heads.

"Eh?" Was all the owner managed to say before the three D's ran out of sight. That's when he got it. "GET BACK HERE YOU ASSHOLES!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Their laughter echoed through the village as the happy family ran out of sight with a mad chef following their trail. They were truly a strange sight.

* * *

Ah, the wonders of brotherhood…

I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I did writing it, I already have next chapter in mind, so I don't think it'll take me so much time to update. I'm feeling generous, so here's a small preview of next chapter:

**"HOLY SHIT! ACE! YOU'RE ON FIRE!" "What? WAIT! LUFFY! DON'T!"**

Small right? But then I'll give too much information so… yeah… By the way! If you ever come up with any idea that you would like me to write, please tell me and I'll do my best to fulfill your expectations ;)

Remember to review! Reviews help the ecosystem!

~nt'kit


	2. Fire!

Oh yeah, chapter two! Okay, I know I said this was about Luffy and Ace in their childhood, but this came to my mind… so let's call this the only exception!

I don't have much to say… but thanks so much to all the ones that faves, alerted, and reviewed! You made an author happy :') And for the sake of not having much to write... **Voquo**, I'm gald I helped you on your... uh... productive day at work! XD Yeah, oddly enough, I can also picture Garp running with Luffy and Ace... **eternitybeckons**, I would've never thought of that! It really made me laugh! I'm seriously thinking about making something like that later on… XD **WindGodess Rune**, I know right? Garp isn't setting a good example to his grandsons... especailly if he does the same thing they do... **Hascuko**, Hooray! I made you laugh! (Please don't fall of your chair... I don't have much money for medical expenses...) If I see that in the show, I would be really happy (and scared)!

There you go! Now it looks like I had much to say!

**Disclaimer:** Yes, I do own One Piece (Please note the sarcasm).

**Warning: **Un-beta'ed

**Summary:** Ace wanted to give Luffy a little surprise… or so he thought.

**Ages:**

Ace- 17

Luffy- 14

* * *

Makino smiled widely at the raven haired boy sitting in front of her. It had been almost a month since Ace left the island to pursue his own dream and find the One Piece. Even though Luffy hadn't told her -or anyone for that matter-, she knew that the usually happy boy was a tad bit sad after the departure of his big brother.

The first week had been quite a problem, the hyperactive boy was not-so-hyperactive anymore, and in order to fool everyone of him being okay he created some (weird) kind of routine: he ate a gruesome (and kind of scaring) amount of meat, followed by a monstrous 'training', which consisted on going to the forest and attacking the poor animals that lived in it. After a good five hours he would go and sulk at Makino's bar while getting drunk on orange juice and finally, an angry Dadan would drag the poor boy to their home.

Thank God Garp was nowhere around by that time…

Eventually, Luffy's normal loud obnoxious self came back to life by the second week, where he would go around without a care in the world with his usual bright smile and endless appetite.

As of right now, said boy was eating at Makino's after his normal session of training, and as usual, he was entertaining the nice lady with this one little adventure that he had gone through today, making the young woman chuckle every now and then.

"Really? And then what happened?" Makino asked the hyperactive boy while drying a glass.

Luffy gulped down his meat before answering. "Then the stupid bear stood up, and he was very big! Like, really, really, _really _big! And I was really tired to fight with it! So I had to run to Dadan's house…" The boy finished with a pout as he remembered today's events. He had to run away from a stupid bear, next time he would definitely make it his meal.

"Ah, but you're safe aren't you?" Makino asked kindly, trying to cheer the boy.

"Well… After that the bear started to follow me!" Luffy said, earning a worried look from Makino. "And the bear was fast! So I ran to Dadan's house so I could hide there and guess who was there!"

"Dadan?"

"Yes! She yelled at me for bringing home a bear and she stood before the bear! She was going to fight with him!"

Makino gasped. "And Dadan won?"

"I'm not sure… because when the bear saw her, he fell in love with Dadan!" Luffy said with a chuckle. "He had hearts on his eyes and Dadan started to run with the bear following her!"

Makino chuckled, she had finished drying all the glasses and she looked up, but that smile was wiped away as soon as she stared at the door, a look of surprise adorning her face.

"I know! I made that face too!" Luffy said obliviously. "I'm sure Dadan looks more like a boar…"

"Nah, I think she looks like a cow."

"Nu-uh! She looks like a boar!" Luffy said with a pout, a pout that was soon replaced with a look of surprise. "Wait… that voice…"

"Well, aren't you as slow as always, Luffy?"

"Ace-kun…" Makino said in a whisper.

Luffy's eyes widened, Ace? Wasn't he supposed to be at the sea, being pirate and making his name known through the world? He turned around really slowly, almost as in fear that the moment he turned around he would be welcomed by an empty sight.

"Eh? What's with that face, both of you?" The freckled boy asked with a frown. Seriously, he hadn't seen those two in about three weeks and that's how they greeted them?

"Ace!" He couldn't react fast enough. Before he knew it, a blur of red and blue appeared in front of him and the blur gave him a deathly hug, one that sent them both to the ground. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on the Grand Line!"

Ace let a smirk get on his face as he patted the hyperactive boy on the head. "Well, it seems that the fastest way to get to the Grand Line is through East Blue, so I'm heading to Loguetown and… Luffy get off of me, I'm starting to lose my breath." He said as he tried to push the smaller boy off of him. Key word, tried.

"No way!" The kid said while purposely adding his whole weight to the taller boy. "I haven't seen you in three weeks!"

Ace gave a sigh and in one swift move, he turned their positions around, sitting in Luffy's stomach while said boy kept hitting him on the side. "Oh, so you still can't beat me, right little brother?" A smirk appeared on Ace's lips as Luffy pouted and stuck his tongue at him in a childish way. Yep, messing with Luffy was still fun.

"Ace-kun," Makino said getting both boys attention. "Why are you here? You could've gone to Loguetown without stopping here right?" As much as the woman was happy to see the freckled boy, she was still worried. What if something bad happened, making him come here for comfort? Or worst, what if he was scared? Makino let her train of thought wander a bit off before being interrupted by a chuckling Luffy.

"What are you laughing at?" Ace asked, still not moving from the raven haired boy's stomach.

"Ace is slooooow!" Luffy said with a grin. "If it had been me, I would have made it to the Grand Line in two- no, one week!"

A vein throbbed in Ace's forehead and soon after, he was pulling the rubber boy's lips as far as he could. "I had to find a navigator first, moron! If not I wouldn't be able to survive there!"

Makino chuckled at the boys in front of her, they hadn't really changed that much. "Ace-kun, why don't you hang here for a while? I'll prepare you something to eat." The woman offered kindly, getting Ace's attention and finally making him get off of Luffy.

The three chatted for a while, Ace told Luffy and Makino about his adventures on the sea and about the reason he was at Fuusha. It seemed that after finally getting a navigator, Ace and his crew made it back to East Blue, they were supposed to go directly to Loguetown, but his navigator told him that they needed a Log Pose to travel there. Luckily, he also knew where to get them, and it was on the neighboring village. Since two other of his crewmates lived nearby, they decided to visit their hometown, and so did Ace.

"Oh… so are you spending the night here?" Luffy asked as he stole some food from his brother's plate.

"Yeah, I'll go and visit Dadan." The freckled boy said after slapping Luffy's hand away from his food. "I want to tease her about that bear you said a while ago."

Luffy laughed for a while before he started jumping on his seat, making Ace a bit confused. "OH! And then we could fight! Please! I swear I've gotten stronger this past three weeks!" And the jumping continued.

"Eh… sure… Luffy, why are you jumping on your seat?" Ace asked.

"I really want to pee." Was the simple answer the younger D. gave, making Ace slap him across the head.

"IDIOT! Go to the restroom!"

"I can't!" Luffy said with a squeaky voice. "If I leave, maybe Ace will go again!"

At the statement his brother gave, Ace's features softened. He took the straw hat and ruffled the raven's hair. "I won't leave, I promise. I have to return this hat to you, right?" And with a grin, Luffy stormed to the back of the bar to finally pee.

"You worried?" Makino asked, seeing the concerned look Ace gave his little brother as he ran.

"Yeah." He said truthfully, placing the straw hat on the counter. "That idiot knows nothing but getting in trouble."

Makino nodded, but a smile reassured the older D. "It's alright, Luffy's strong," She said, taking the plates Ace emptied. "Besides, he's got the Devil's Fruit powers."

"Ah, yeah. About that, I have a little surprise for Luffy." Ace said, standing up and taking a few steps back. "I also ate a Devil's Fruit while at sea." And as if on cue, his body was set on fire. "Mera-Mera no mi, I can produce fire from any part of my body."

Makino stared wide-eyed at the boy before him. Indeed, his whole body was on fire but he was not burning, nor his clothes were turned into ashes (something she found quite strange by the way). She was so immerse in her staring that she didn't notice Luffy getting into the bar with a barrel full of water in his hands.

"Makino! Why didn't you say there was a hole in the roof! I could've patched it you kno- HOLLY SHIT! ACE! YOU'RE ON FIRE!"

And then, everything turned slow motion. Ace could see Luffy running towards him, that barrel in his hands was full of water and he could see the small drops that fell from it due to Luffy's running. Then the boy was dangerously close, the barrel in his hands was being held back, as if he was preparing himself to throw all that dirty water on him, but what could he do? Nothing. He just stood there with his mouth open and his eyes wide. When he finally got a hold of his senses, he panicked.

"What? WAIT! LUFFY, DON'T-!" And his words drowned in his throat (literally) as the dirty water was thrown at him, some even getting in his mouth.

Luffy huffed as he saw his now dripping brother. He let a sigh escape his mouth and with a grin he took a seat in the floor. "Ah, that was close…"

"IDIOT!"

* * *

"What? So Ace ate a Devil Fruit too? Why didn't you say sooner?" Luffy laughed, dismissing the glare the wet boy was giving him.

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU IF YOU ATTACKED ME SO SUDDENLY!" Ace snapped, pulling the rubber boy's mouth once again.

Makino watched the brother's interaction with a smile, even though Luffy just pored some water in him, she could see that Ace was happy. Now the problem was, should he tell the boys that that water was the result of her unplugging the toilet after someone plugged it with their… uh… poop?

"Whatever, let's go to Dadan's. I need to take a bath, that water smelled awful!"

"Yeah, you smell like poop, Ace!"

"AND WHO'S FAULT IS THAT?"

... Maybe it was better if she kept that to herself. After all, she didn't want Luffy to stop hugging the struggling Ace, right?

* * *

Smelly Ace and Luffy! Woot!

Alright, I seriously don't have much to say… so here's the preview for next chapter:

"**Look Ace! I can reach that rock now!" "Hmm… really?" SPLASH! *groan* "Oh, for God's sake… again?"**

Ta~da! Remember to review and let me know what you think!

~nt'kit


	3. All I want for Christmas is meat

Um… hello? I'm sorry I planned to give you guys a Christmas Special, but this turned out to be (really) late… I wasn't home for the holidays, so when I came back I hurried into making this. Anyway, this time Sabo will appear in the story! So, I hope you enjoy it and that you had a wonderful Christmas!

I'll thank for the reviews properly next time 'cause I'm in a bit of a hurry, but still, THANK YOU SO MUCH! There were new reviewers and favs and alerts and it made me so happy :') Now I'm being emotional…

**Disclaimer: **Don't own.

**Warning: **Un-beta'd. I'm not quite sure if there'll be many mistakes, sorry! :S

**Summary: **All Luffy wanted for Christmas was meat, so it's his big brothers mission to make that wish come true.

**Ages:**

Sabo- 10

Ace- 10

Luffy- 7

_

* * *

_

Christmas Special! (ft. Sabo)

The morning was particularly cold today. The sun was already shining behind the calm ocean, and the first rays were making their way through the villages of East Blue. It was really a nice morning, perfect to stay tucked under the covers until noon and then do nothing but hang before a fire all day, drinking hot chocolate and eating marshmallows. And they would have accomplished that task, really, had it not been that the mean, evil sun decided to let one of its rays hit the face of a now grunting blond boy.

Sabo groaned as he covered his face with his blanket, he could still hear the light snoring from his right even with the sun on their faces. He sighed, when they made this tree house, they clearly didn't think of locating the window in a place where the sun wouldn't wake them up so early in the morning… he needed some curtains.

Sabo turned around uncomfortably under the covers as his stomach made a soft grumble. He was hungry, and he was sure that the other two would soon be hungry too. He sighed as he lay flat on his stomach for a while, he needed to wake up Ace and Luffy so they could go and hunt their food. He loved those two, but waking them up was such a pain! They could sleep through _anything_! Not to mention Ace's narcolepsy that let him sleep even during a fight, and just to make things worse, waking them up was a task he didn't like so much.

With a sigh he got up, deciding to wake up Ace first and then make him wake up Luffy, he always knew how to do that.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched a bit before jumping the empty blankets besides his and getting before Ace.

Wait, empty blankets?

Sabo felt his heart sink when he turned around and saw the empty space where Luffy was supposed to be sleeping. Where was that boy? He was always so reluctant to wake up, so how come there's no Luffy here? Thoughts rushed through Sabo's head, making his face turn paler by the second, he could've sleepwalked to the forest, and now he could be sleeping near a cave, or a cliff or- his eyes widened in horror, he could've walked straight to the river!

He could feel himself hyperventilating; he was supposed to be the big brother! Alright, calm down. He tried to put his thoughts in order, he needed to wake up Ace, then rush to the woods screaming Luffy's name like mad men, and pray that he didn't walk into a river. Easy, right?

"Sabo, are you okay?"

He turned around sharply -wishing he hadn't since his neck was now aching- and to his relief, there was Luffy, lying in the wooden floor with a piece of paper under him and a pencil in his right hand. He was still on his red pajamas, and his hair was even messier than usual. Sabo let his hand rummage through his hair and a sigh escaped his lips, so much for a scare he had.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He said quietly, walking to where the younger boy was. There was no need to worry Luffy. "What are you doing, Luffy?"

A grin appeared on the boy's lips and he shoved the paper before Sabo's face. The blond took the paper gently and he read it, an eyebrow rising after reading the only word that was written there. "Meat?" He asked with a smirk, that boy never failed to amuse him.

"Yep, I'm writing my Christmas list!" Luffy said enthusiastically, waving his arms excitedly over himself. "Right now I've only got meat on it because I don't know what else I want, but I'll think about it through the day so I can send it to Santa tonight so I can eat some meat tomorrow!"

A smile made its way to Sabo's lips as he watched the exited boy draw something that seemed like an ugly circle with a stick next to the messy 'MEAT' letters, he supposed Luffy tried to draw a piece of meat. A groan sounded on the other side of the small tree house and Luffy immediately hid his Christmas list under a dusty box on the corner, earning a curious look from Sabo. "If Ace find out about this he's gonna bully me." Luffy whispered, praying that Sabo understood and wouldn't go and tell Ace what he did.

"We need curtains…" Was the greeting both boys received from the sleepy Ace as he placed his hand over his face in an attempt of blocking the annoying sunlight that was hitting directly to his eyes.

_-Page Break!-_

"Alright Luffy, it's your turn to go to Dadan's and ask her for something to drink while Sabo and I go and get some breakfast." Ace said putting on his sandals. He was ready to hit Luffy on the head after said boy complained that he wanted to go and hunt some animal too, like he always did, but to his surprise there was no complaining. Instead, Ace was greeted with a happy nod.

Both boys stared at the skipping Luffy as he headed to Dadan's house, and they shared a look of surprise and confusion. They shrugged it off and decided to go and hunt some really big bear.

_-Page Break!-_

"This one's bigger than the one of last week!" Sabo said happily while he and Ace pulled a big, black bear to their little hidden tree house. "I bet Luffy's already starving up there."

Ace snorted at the mention of their little brother, he had acted really strange that morning, and he was a little bit worried -not that he would ever admit it- but Sabo was right about something, whenever it involved food, Luffy always turned back to normal, and with such a big bear like this, the boy would be skipping through the whole place, trying to eat it even though it would be still raw. "I'll go get him, start the fire meanwhile." Ace said, and soon after he started to climb the handmade and quite dangerous stairs.

"Oi, Luffy, we got some food! Get the drinks and come down." Ace said, waiting for an energetic answer that never came. "Luffy?"

The freckled boy walked into the empty room of the tree house, their blankets were neatly folded in one side as they had them before leaving. Luffy's sandals were scattered over the room, meaning the boy was back, he turned around and smirked when he saw a sleeping Luffy over a dusty box with three thermos at his side. Ace tip-toed behind Luffy, his mind set to scare the poor, drooling boy, until he saw something under Luffy's head.

Curiosity taking the best of him, Ace lifted Luffy's head by his hat and took the piece of paper. At first he was rather confused, with all that scratching and those weird drawings, but after a while his face turned a light pink. There, in Ace's hands, was Luffy's Christmas List. He took a seat next to the sleeping boy and read the list once again.

_Dear Santa, tomorrow will be finally Christmas, and I would like to ask you for some things. I've been a good boy, _I swear_, I even helped grandpa once with his boring Marine work, and I helped Dadan with the house cleaning once._

Ace smirked at this, he remembered cleaning the house with Luffy, and although it had been a good thought, the whole cleaning thing turned out to be a battle between those two to see who cleaned faster, breaking a lot of things in the process and making Dadan angrier than usual.

_Anyway, I've been thinking the whole morning but I can't think of anything I would like except for meat _(insert funny drawing here)_ lots and lots of meat!_

That was something Ace expected, what he didn't was the next thing the younger D. wrote.

_I know Ace and Sabo won't make you a Christmas list because they say big boys don't do that anymore, but I want to ask something for them too._

_Sabo once told me that when he went to the sea, he would like to be his own navigator, so he told me once of the book he tried to steal in the library but got caught by the old lady and she kicked him out (she's a mean old lady, don't bring her too many presents, Santa!). So please bring him a navigation book, the best you can find!_

_For Ace it's kind of difficult because he never tells me what he wants, but I think I know what would make him happy! Every time we go to sleep, Sabo and I place our hats on a desk, and I've seen Ace stare at them for some time, once I asked Ace what he was looking at, he blushed and then he hurried me to sleep, I thought it was weird for him to blush over that, and after giving it some thought I think I realized what was going on inside his head! So I want you to bring him a cool hat, that way the three of us will have hats!_

Ace blushed at that, sure, he was staring at the hats but he wasn't thinking about them, at all. Although he once wished to have some hat too, just like his brothers…

The list ended with some odd drawings of books, hats, meat and what seemed to be Santa Clause with a reindeer (or a dog, Ace was not that sure). He stood up after finishing reading that list and placed it under Luffy's head once more. He should tell Sabo about this.

_-Page Break!-_

"I know."

Ace stared at Sabo for a moment, _he knew_? How could it be that he knew about Luffy's list and he didn't? Better yet, why didn't he say anything before?

"I found Luffy's list this morning, but he told me to keep it a secret from you because you would bully him." Sabo said as if he read Ace's mind. The freckled boy turned his head to the side with a pout. Alright, maybe he would have bullied Luffy for a while, but he was his brother! He had the right to know too. "What should we do then?" Sabo asked, getting Ace's attention again.

Ace sighed, he really didn't want to do this, but it was his only choice. "I have a plan, but you'll have to keep Luffy busy after we eat."

Sabo nodded, he might as well ask Ace about the details tonight. "I'm gonna fetch Luffy, food's ready." The blond boy said while climbing the stairs, leaving a blushing Ace behind.

_-Page Break!-_

Ace panted in front of the busy bar that was located in the main street of Fuusha. He had heard of this place before from Luffy, whenever he talked about that Shanks, he would mention this bar and the wonderful lady that worked there that would always feed Luffy's pit less stomach. He barely opened the door before sticking his head through the gap he'd made. There didn't seem to be that many people, meaning he was safe. With a sigh, Ace opened the door completely and stepped in, staring at the woman that was cleaning some plates behind the counter.

A sigh of relief escaped from the boy's lips as he stared at the woman, he knew her, she was the lady that brought sake to Dadan and the guys! She seemed like a nice lady, considering the fact that every now and then she would climb that hill to give some sake to those bandits…

With a new rush of courage, Ace walked towards the counter, and standing in his toes so that his eyes could at least see the, lady he cleared his throat. "Uh… excuse me?"

Makino smiled at the boy as he struggled to stay in his toes so that the tall counter wouldn't block his vision. "Why, hello Ace-kun! Why don't you take a seat?" Makino offered kindly to the boy, which he immediately obliged, happy that he could stare at the woman clearly now.

Ace opened his mouth, his mind resolved to ask the woman if she could help him with a little task, but somehow, those words lost their way while going to his mouth when some other thoughts rushed in, resulting in Ace asking a completely different question. "How do you know my name?" He asked a little more aggressive than he would've liked, but the woman didn't seem to mind at all.

"I've seen you when I go to Dadan's; you're Luffy's older brother! How is he? Is he happy? Dadan's not making him suffer too much, right?"

Ace sweat dropped at the woman's questions, she seemed to care about Luffy a lot. "Err… yeah, he's fine." Ace said, earning a sigh of relief from Makino. "I came here because I need you to help me with something…"

_-Page Break!-_

"Well Luffy, did you like your special training?" Sabo asked to the small boy as they made their way to the tree house.

After they were done eating, Ace said that he wanted to train some more, resulting in Luffy asking (more like begging) Ace to let him train with him. Sabo, catching the hidden meaning in Ace's words, quickly took control of things, telling Luffy that he had prepared a special training for him so that he could beat Ace next time they sparred. Overflowing with glee, the black haired boy immediately grabbed Sabo's arm, leading him deep into the forest. He was definitely eager to start with his training.

It had certainly been quite a tiresome day, not only had Sabo invented some weird training to keep Luffy busy for a couple of hours, but he had also fetched the little boy whenever he slipped into the river. He would die young thanks to all those worries Luffy put him through.

"Say, Luffy, what about that Christmas list? Did you send it already?"

"Yep, before training, I sent it in a balloon Dadan gave me." Luffy said happily, skipping from time to time.

"A balloon?" Sabo asked. "Why would you send it in a balloon?"

At this, Luffy grinned. "Duh! If I send it with the mail it will take too long! So I need my list to fly to the South Pole! And what better way than a balloon?"

"Eh… Luffy, I think you mean the North Pole." Sabo said quietly, wishing soon after that he hadn't…

…Because Luffy's face went pale and his eyes started to water, "W-What?" He asked with a trembling voice. Now Sabo started to panic. There was one thing he didn't like, at all: To see someone crying. What was he supposed to do? He didn't know how to comfort a crying Luffy!

"I wrote South Pole in the balloon! I even put a stamp of the Ice Queen in it!" Came Luffy's answer as he sobbed quietly. "Now Santa won't get my list!"

Sabo was certainly panicking right now. Luffy was now sobbing and hiccupping while sitting on the ground. He sighed. He needed to say something that would make him stop crying for his sake. "Don't worry Luffy! I read in the newspaper that Santa went to the South Pole for an urgent meeting, I'm sure the Ice Queen will give Santa your list once he arrives." That had to be the most ridiculous lie he'd ever told, bust since Luffy stopped sobbing, he didn't care at all.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?"

A smile appeared on the smaller boy's face as he whipped the tears that went down his cheek. Santa would definitely bring him and his brothers their presents.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing?"

Luffy's ears perked up at the sound of that voice; there was no mistake on that bored tone. "Ace! Let's fight!"

"Not now," Groaned Ace, a scowl firm on his freckled face. "I'm tired."

"Wha- Come on! Please! I got really stronger! Now I can do this! And this! And this too…"

"How was it?" Sabo asked in a whisper, both boys ignoring the rambling Luffy that kept throwing punches at different directions while naming them in a strange, mad-like manner.

Ace nodded. "Makino said I should go at her place at 11 this night, I'll fill you in the details later."

The rest of the day turned out to be as normal as any other day, aside from the usual bullying from Ace and then a sobbing Luffy going to tell on Ace to Sabo, there was nothing really interesting. Soon enough, night came, and so did the enthusiasm that had been build inside Luffy. Finally, tonight Santa was going to come with his present. This was certainly the best day a kid could have, so after eating dinner, Luffy excused himself and went to sleep as soon as possible, knowing that Santa wouldn't come unless you were asleep.

Ace and Sabo nodded, this was their cue.

_-Page Break!-_

A glare was directed to the blond boy, who was currently trying to hold his laughter but failed miserably as some snickers escaped his tightly closed lips.

"Would you _stop _already?" Ace said in a growl. "I feel ridiculous enough, no need for you to remind me of that." He finished while putting on the black boots Makino gave him. All in all, Ace looked like a grumpy mini-me of Santa Clause with freckles.

It was about three in the morning. After Luffy went to bed, Sabo and Ace stayed down while the freckled boy told the blond about his plan. They went up the tree to find a snoring Luffy clutching tightly his pillow, and without making any noise, both boys stuffed their own pillows under the covers, so that if the sleeping boy woke up in the night, he would see them sleeping.

It was a fool-proof plan, or so they thought.

Inside the little tree house, a raven haired boy was struggling to keep his eyes shut, but someone was making so much noise outside… With a defeated sigh, Luffy got up and stayed still for a moment, his sleepiness clouding his mind as he thought how to get down without waking up his brothers. Using the stairs seemed like the best option.

Ace, meanwhile, was breathing deeply, trying to calm down so that he didn't jump on an unsuspecting Sabo and strangled him for a while. Suddenly Sabo's laughter drowned out. At first, a smile appeared on the freckled boy's face, but when he turned around his smile faded, because Sabo was now running towards a tree to hide himself. Then, after he was well hidden, he gave Ace a thumbs-up and mouthed a 'Good luck'.

His luck was turning worst and worst by the second.

A crash interrupted Ace from his musings and he turned around to be greeted by a moaning Luffy, his face was buried in the ground and his butt was sticking out. After a wild guess, Ace suspected that the idiot walked straight to the hole were the stairs were located.

"That scared me…" Luffy mumbled after getting up and dusting off his clothes. "Huh?"

Ace could feel his feet rooted to the ground, he wanted to move, _run_ out of that place and never come back until Sabo forgot what he did and wouldn't tease him anymore, but his thought were too slow when suddenly a sleepy Luffy had his face close to the sweating raven. He saw his eyes staring at him directly, still cloudy from the sleep, and suddenly, those same eyes widened. All trace of sleep already gone.

Ace closed his eyes, too scared to see the disappointed look in Luffy. Had he figured it out already? Would he be mad? He popped one eye open, just in case, and his jaw dropped at the sight before him.

There was Luffy, pointing stupidly at Ace with sparkles in his eyes, damn he could swear there was some drool coming out of the corner of his mouth. Still, the only thought that could come to his mind at that moment was: 'Idiot'.

"Uh…" Ace started. "Ho ho… ho?"

"Santa Clause!" A crash and some cursing later, Luffy was sitting on top of Santa's stomach, a grin that threatened to break the boy's head in half had it not been that he's made of rubber. "Are you here to give me some presents?"

Santa nodded, not trusting his voice enough, and got up quietly, grabbing his brown bag. "Uh… Monkey D. Luffy, right?" Ace asked in a hoarse voice.

Luffy nodded enthusiastically, _too_ enthusiastically in Ace's opinion, his neck hurt after seeing him. He looked into the brown bag and took out a big piece of meat. Luffy's grin got even bigger if possible. "Well, Santa has to give the rest of the presents! Go back to sleep and don't wake up your brothers!" Ace could swear he heard some snickering from behind the trees.

Luffy's face seemed to drop after that statement, was that it? What about the rest of his list? "Um… Santa?" Luffy fidgeted. "Is there nothing for Ace and Sabo?"

A small smile appeared on Santa's mouth as he patted the boy's head. "They sent me a letter too, they said they didn't want anything for Christmas, except some meat for their glutton little brother." And after finishing that sentence, Santa rummaged through his bag once again and took out two more pieces of meat.

The grin came back, and since the boy's eyes were adjusted to the night now, he couldn't help but stare at the man in front of him. Funny, he always thought that Santa would be different. "Hey Santa," Luffy said, and for some reason, that tone didn't soothe Ace at all. "You know, I always thought you would be taller, and fatter, and- Is your beard coming off?"

"Ah ha ha… Nonsense! Santa's always been this way! I have to go! My reindeers await for me at the forest! Be good Luffy-kun! Now go to sleep and remember not to wake up your brothers damn it!"

Maybe he was to happy to notice that Santa was acting quite weird and was cursing, but he obliged happily and went to bed, hugging his three pieces of meat until he drifted to sleep.

"That was so cute, Ace Clause!" Sabo teased, a smirk firmly placed on his lips as he chanted around a blushing Ace.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep laughing, next year _you'll _be Santa."

A smile appeared on the freckled boy's face as he saw his brother's face turn a shade paler.

* * *

Hmm, this turned longer than I expected. Hope you liked it! And sorry for being so late with this…

I'll post the last preview here since I didn't write what I was supposed to.

"**Look Ace! I can reach that rock now!" "Hmm… really?" SPLASH! *groan* "Oh, for God's sake… again?"**

And, that's pretty much it. Hope you enjoyed reading this!

~nt'kit


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